Eye Health News and Research

Latest Eye Health News and Research

Hot Ideas World creates Eye-POD Eye Care Kit

The Eye-POD Eye Care Kit has just been created by an entrepreneurial R&D company in Florida, Hot Ideas World, Inc. The array of easy to use functions in the device changes the way users wear Contact Lenses and use Eye Drops.

11 Dec 2009

ThromboGenics initiates Phase II trial of microplasmin for wet AMD

ThromboGenics NV, a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative medicines for eye disease, vascular disease and cancer, announces today that it has started a Phase II trial of microplasmin for the treatment of exudative (wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

11 Dec 2009

Stem cell therapy can be used for LSCD, reports newly published research

Newly published research, by investigators, at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) in the journal Stem Cells reported the first successful treatment of eight patients with "Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency" (LSCD) using the patients' own stem cells without the need of suppressing their immunity.

11 Dec 2009

Senior research scientist to receive 2009 Astellas USA Foundation Award

Fredrick Khachik, Ph.D., a senior research scientist in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, College Park, has been chosen to receive a 2009 Astellas USA Foundation Award.

11 Dec 2009

Mouse study suggests response to injury-induced growth factors can be revived

Brain and spinal-cord injuries typically leave people with permanent impairment because the injured nerve fibers (axons) cannot regrow. A study from Children's Hospital Boston, published in the December 10 issue of the journal Neuron, shows that axons can regenerate vigorously in a mouse model when a gene that suppresses natural growth factors is deleted.

10 Dec 2009

Novartis presents 6-month results from its EVEREST study for PCV

QLT Inc. welcomed the 6-month results from the Novartis-sponsored EVEREST study which were presented during a scientific review today by Novartis in Basel, Switzerland.

9 Dec 2009

Laser technique used to change metal colors could have important implications for medicine

University of Rochester optics professor Chunlei Guo made headlines in the past couple of years when he changed the color of everyday metals by scouring their surfaces with precise, high-intensity laser bursts.

9 Dec 2009

High-flow oxygen appears to be more effective in treating cluster headaches

Patients with a cluster headache, which is characterized by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, were more likely to report being pain-free within 15 minutes of treatment with high-flow oxygen than patients who received a placebo treatment, according to a study in the December 9 issue of JAMA.

9 Dec 2009

New findings may help restore vision in patients with corneal injury

Winston Whei-Yang Kao, PhD, professor of ophthalmology, along with other researchers in UC's ophthalmology department found that transplanting human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells into mouse models that lack the protein lumican restored the transparency of cloudy and thin corneas.

9 Dec 2009

Rise in cancer rates linked to excessive alcohol consumption

There has been a significant increase in cancers which are linked to alcohol over the past ten years, according to figures requested by the Liberal Democrats.

9 Dec 2009

TLC Gift of Sight: A new financing option for corrective eye surgery

According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute, 30 million Americans use a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) to pay for qualified medical expenses, such as laser eye surgery.

8 Dec 2009

CeNeRx BioPharma's TriRima reversibly inhibits MAO-A, confirms PET imaging study

CeNeRx BioPharma, Inc., a clinical stage company developing innovative treatments for diseases of the central nervous system, today announced that a newly published PET imaging study in human subjects confirms that CeNeRx's novel compound TriRima(TM) reversibly inhibits MAO-A (monoamine oxidase A), an enzyme in the brain that plays a key role in the regulation of mood.

8 Dec 2009

Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute supplies stem cells to aid Huntington's disease research

The Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute is to provide stem cells to a five-member National Institutes of Health consortium of researchers for development of potential therapies to treat Huntington's disease.

8 Dec 2009

Aston University researchers receive stimulus funds to study fundamental processes of human vision

A team of researchers led by Professor Mark Georgeson and Dr Timothy Meese at Aston University in Birmingham, UK have been awarded over £1 million pounds worth of funding from the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) and the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) to investigate some of the fundamental processes involved in human vision.

8 Dec 2009

Demand for doctors in rural areas and primary care physicians increases

The Dallas Morning News reports that rural health providers "are keeping a wary eye on proposed health care changes under debate in Congress. ... Democrats and Republicans from rural areas in the South and Midwest succeeded in getting some relief for the rural health care system written into the Senate and House bills under debate.

7 Dec 2009

Stem cell treatment: A new hope for Multiple Sclerosis

RNL Bio Co., Ltd, (www.rnl.co.kr) a leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in adult stem cell therapeutics announced today that a 46-year-old female, Kang Sook Park's Multiple Sclerosis improved tremendously after receiving stem cell treatment. Park was suffering from MS (Multiple Sclerosis), an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).

6 Dec 2009

HESG to acquire stake in two Montana-based marijuana companies

Health Sciences Group, Inc. would like to announce that it is in strong negotiations to acquire a minority stake in two separate Montana-based marijuana growing, distribution and care giving operations.

5 Dec 2009

Patients new to chronic disease medication face risk of medication discontinuation, finds study

In a new study published online today by Clinical Therapeutics, researchers from Adheris, Inc., an inVentiv Health company, found that patients new to chronic disease medication face the greatest risk of medication discontinuation during the first 30 days of treatment—with rates of discontinuation ranging from 29.6% to 78.1%.

5 Dec 2009

Study shows smiles and scowls provide cues for gender identification

"Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?" wrote author Lynn Hecht Schafran. The answer, according to an article in the Journal of Vision, may lie in our interpretation of facial expressions.

4 Dec 2009

Research study shows usage of stem cell-based therapies for treating age-related macular degeneration

An international team of scientists has rescued visual function in laboratory rats with eye disease by using cells similar to stem cells. The research shows the potential for stem cell-based therapies to treat age-related macular degeneration in humans.

4 Dec 2009